Systems and methods for auto-configuring a user equipment device with content consumption material

ABSTRACT

Methods and systems are provided for auto-configuring a newly purchased user equipment (UE) device with content consumption material that is associated with a user. These methods and systems are provided by way of receiving, in response to the user having purchased the UE device, purchase information (e.g., a credit card number) and a UE device identifier (e.g., a serial number of a purchased UE device). After receipt of this information, a database is searched to identify a user account that is associated with the purchase information. The user account identifies content consumption material that has been processed by other UE devices to enable the user to consume content. A communication is then transmitted to the UE device that causes the UE device to be configured with the identified content consumption material.

BACKGROUND

It is commonplace for consumers to purchase and own multiple userequipment (UE) devices that share common capabilities such as a personalcomputer, a laptop computer, a tablet computer, a mobile telephone, andthe like. These same consumers often subscribe to many services, each ofwhich require separate usernames and passwords. Additionally, these sameconsumers often utilize multiple applications, such as streaming videoapplications and other applications.

While it is currently possible to install applications on a newlypurchased UE device, and then import user information relating to thatapplication to that newly purchased UE device, it is quite frustratingto have to do so for every new UE device one purchases, given the sheeramount of applications a typical purchaser uses.

SUMMARY

Methods and systems are provided herein for auto-configuring a newlypurchased UE device with content consumption material that has beenpreviously processed by other UE devices to enable the user to consumecontent. These methods and systems are provided by way of receiving, inresponse to the purchase of a UE device, purchase information (e.g., acredit card number), and a UE device identifier that is associated withthe purchased UE device (e.g., a serial number of a purchased UEdevice). Upon receipt of this information, a database is searched toidentify a user account based on the received purchase information. Theuser account might be identified by determining the identity of thecredit card holder, and therefrom determining what subscriptions andapplications the credit card holder uses on his or her other UE devices.The identified user account may identify content consumption materialthat has been processed by another UE device used by purchaser (e.g., anapplication used by the purchaser on an old computer) to enable the userto consume content. A communication may then be made to the purchased UEdevice based on the UE device identifier, such that the UE device iscaused to be configured with the content consumption material identifiedby the user account.

In some embodiments, the content consumption material might includeapplications. A determination may be made as to which contentconsumption material associated with or identified by the user accountis compatible with the newly purchased UE device. For example, somecontent consumption material on a purchaser's first UE device thatoperates using a first platform (e.g., Android device) may not becompatible with a second UE device that operates using a second platform(e.g., MacBook Air device). This determination might be made byaccessing a database via a communications network to determine whichcontent consumption material is compatible with the specific platformcorresponding to a purchased UE device. For example, when a computer(e.g., a Samsung Chromebook) is purchased at a store, the purchaser'scredit card information may be used to determine whether the purchaserhas a user account. If the user does in fact have a user account, it maybe determined that the user account includes information associated witha proprietary application that is not compatible with the platform thatthe purchased computer uses to operate (e.g., a product limited to UEdevices created by Apple, such as iTunes, is not compatible with theAndroid platform).

After determining that the purchaser does in fact have a user account, aserver may then transmit a communication to the UE device that causesthe UE device to be configured with the content consumption materialidentified by the user account. The trigger that causes the server totransmit the communication may depend on varying conditions. Forexample, the server may transmit the communication when an indication isreceived that the UE device has been powered on for the first time, orthat the UE device is set to default or factory settings. In anotherembodiment, the server may transmit the communication when an indicationis received from the UE that includes a list of all user accountsassociated with the UE, and a determination may be made that thepurchaser's user account is not part of that list. Such indications maybe received by periodically transmitting HELLO messages addressed to theUE device, where the addressing is based on the UE device identifier.When a response to the HELLO message is received, the server maydetermine therefrom that the purchased UE device has not been previouslyassociated with the purchaser's user account. For example, when a newlypurchased first device, such as a Samsung Chromebook, is turned on forthe first time, the first device may hear a HELLO message and transmitan I'M HERE message, such that the server knows to transmit informationassociated with the purchaser's user account to the first device.

When identifying a user account, purchase information may be used todetermine who the purchaser is. Purchase information may include thecredit card number associated with the credit card used to make thepurchase, a bank account number or debit card number from which fundswere used to make the purchase, a username associated with a purchaser,an identifier of an entity that is configured to provide funds forcompleting the purchase, and a purchaser's home address. For example,when an online purchase of a UE device, such as a Samsung Chromebook, ismade through an online vendor, such as www.amazon.com, by John Smith,whose username on www.amazon.com is jsmith12@gmail.com, a database maybe accessed to identify that it was in fact John Smith who made thepurchase, and to identify John Smith's user account. The user accountmay then be used to identify content consumption material that has beenprocessed by another UE device that John Smith owns to enable John Smithto consume content. At this point, information associated with JohnSmith's user account may be easily transmitted to John Smith's newSamsung Chromebook based on the device identifier of the SamsungChromebook, such as its serial number.

Content consumption material associated with or identified by JohnSmith's user account that John Smith would like on his new SamsungChromebook may include usernames, passwords, user profile settings,device settings, and applications that John Smith likes to use. Forexample, when John Smith first turns on his new Samsung Chromebook, hisChromebook may be automatically configured with his usernames andpasswords for sites he likes to use, such as online shopping websites,online banking websites, and any other website. Furthermore, JohnSmith's new Samsung Chromebook may also be auto-configured withapplications that John Smith likes to use, such as YouTube, Fruit Ninja,and Spotify.

The manner in which the UE device is auto-configured may include the UEdevice processing the communication transmitted by the server toidentify the content consumption material identified by the useraccount. For example, such processing may cause the UE to identifyapplications that the user has downloaded to another device. The UEdevice may then determine which applications associated with theidentified content consumption material are not already configured onthe UE device (e.g., determine whether one of the applicationsassociated with the user account is pre-installed on the new UE device).The applications determined to not already be installed may bedownloaded to the UE device, and the platform of the UE device may thenbe modified to include a module for each downloaded application. Whenthe user selects a module, the corresponding downloaded application maybe executed, such that the user is enabled to consume content using thatapplication.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other objects and advantages of the disclosure will beapparent upon consideration of the following detailed description, takenin conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like referencecharacters refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIG. 1 shows an illustrative embodiment of a display screen that may beused to provide media guidance application listings and other mediaguidance information, in accordance with some embodiments of thedisclosure;

FIG. 2A shows another illustrative embodiment of a display screen thatmay be used to provide media guidance application listings, inaccordance with some embodiments of the disclosure;

FIG. 2B shows another illustrative embodiment of a display screen thatmay be used to provide content consumption material, in accordance withsome embodiments of the disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an illustrative user equipment (UE) devicein accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an illustrative media system in accordancewith some embodiments of the disclosure;

FIG. 5A shows an illustrative embodiment of a system that may identify auser account based on information obtained when a device is purchased,in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure;

FIG. 5B shows an illustrative embodiment of a system that may identifycontent consumption material associated with or identified by a useraccount that are compatible with a newly purchased UE device, inaccordance with some embodiments of the disclosure;

FIG. 6 shows an illustrative embodiment of a database entry that detailsfields associated with a user account, in accordance with someembodiments of the disclosure;

FIG. 7 shows an illustrative embodiment of a database entry that detailsassociations between UE device identifiers, makes and models of UEdevices, and which content consumption material is compatible with thoseUE devices, in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure;

FIG. 8 is a flowchart of illustrative steps involved in identifying auser account based on information obtained when a UE device ispurchased, and transmitting a communication to the UE device that causesthe UE device to be configured with the content consumption materialidentified by the user account, in accordance with some embodiments ofthe disclosure;

FIG. 9 is a flowchart of illustrative steps involved in identifyingapplications that are associated with the content consumptioninformation associated with the user account that are compatible withthe newly purchased UE device, in accordance with some embodiments ofthe disclosure;

FIG. 10 is a flowchart of illustrative steps taken by the UE device whenthe UE device is to be auto-configured, in accordance with someembodiments of the disclosure; and

FIG. 11 is a flowchart of illustrative steps taken by the UE device toconfigure the UE device upon receiving a communication from the server,in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Methods and systems are provided herein for auto-configuring a newlypurchased UE device with content consumption material specific to apurchaser. These methods and systems are provided by way of receiving,in response to the purchase of a UE device, purchase information (e.g.,a credit card number) and a UE device identifier (e.g., a serial numberof a purchased UE device). Upon receipt of this information, a databaseis searched to identify a user account based on the purchaseinformation. The user account might be identified by determining theidentity of the credit card holder, and what content consumptionmaterial the credit card holder uses on his or her other devices may bedetermined therefrom. A communication may then be automaticallytransmitted to the UE device, based on the UE device identifier, tocause the UE device to be configured with the content consumptionmaterial.

The term “device identifier” wherever used in this disclosure refers toany form of identifier that uniquely identifies a UE device. This may bea serial number, an IP address, a unique indicator, a MAC address, orthe like. The terms “device identifier” and “device ID” are usedinterchangeably in the disclosure, and carry the same definition.

The term “content consumption material” wherever used in this disclosurerefers to any material that enables a user to access content, such asusernames, handles, passwords, PIN numbers, and the like that a useruses to log in to or access websites, bank accounts, or other restrictedor unrestricted entities. Content consumption material may also includeapplications, subscriptions, and the like.

The term “user account” wherever used in this disclosure refers to anaccount that may include or provide an indication of content consumptionmaterial associated with a user.

The term “platform” wherever used in this disclosure refers to ahardware architecture and/or software framework that allows software,such as application software. A platform may include an operatingsystem, a computer architecture, a programming language and/or relateduser interface, and the like.

The term “application” wherever used in this disclosure refers to anyform of stand-alone software. Such software may be self-contained andmay execute by itself. Accordingly, such software may be able to executeon a device of any platform with little to no modification. Theapplication is executable by the operating system independently of anyother software running at the given time on the device. An applicationmay be an over-the-top (OTT) application.

The amount of content available to users in any given content deliverysystem can be substantial. Consequently, many users desire a form ofmedia guidance through an interface that allows users to efficientlynavigate content selections and easily identify content that they maydesire. An application that provides such guidance is referred to hereinas an interactive media guidance application or, sometimes, a mediaguidance application or a guidance application.

Interactive media guidance applications may take various forms dependingon the content for which they provide guidance. One typical type ofmedia guidance application is an interactive television program guide.Interactive television program guides (sometimes referred to aselectronic program guides) are well-known guidance applications that,among other things, allow users to navigate among and locate many typesof content or media assets. Interactive media guidance applications maygenerate graphical user interface screens that enable a user to navigateamong, locate and select content. As referred to herein, the terms“media asset” and “content” should be understood to mean anelectronically consumable user asset, such as television programming, aswell as pay-per-view programs, on-demand programs (as in video-on-demand(VOD) systems), Internet content (e.g., streaming content, downloadablecontent, Webcasts, etc.), video clips, audio, content information,pictures, rotating images, documents, playlists, websites, articles,books, electronic books, blogs, advertisements, chat sessions, socialmedia, applications, games, and/or any other media or multimedia and/orcombination of the same. Guidance applications also allow users tonavigate among and locate content. As referred to herein, the term“multimedia” should be understood to mean content that utilizes at leasttwo different content forms described above, for example, text, audio,images, video, or interactivity content forms. Content may be recorded,played, displayed or accessed by user equipment devices, but can also bepart of a live performance.

With the advent of the Internet, mobile computing, and high-speedwireless networks, users are accessing media on user equipment deviceson which they traditionally did not. As referred to herein, the phrase“user equipment device,” “user equipment,” “user device,” “electronicdevice,” “electronic equipment,” “media equipment device,” or “mediadevice” should be understood to mean any device for accessing thecontent described above, such as a television, a Smart TV, a set-topbox, an integrated receiver decoder (IRD) for handling satellitetelevision, a digital storage device, a digital media receiver (DMR), adigital media adapter (DMA), a streaming media device, a DVD player, aDVD recorder, a connected DVD, a local media server, a BLU-RAY player, aBLU-RAY recorder, a personal computer (PC), a laptop computer, a tabletcomputer, a WebTV box, a personal computer television (PC/TV), a PCmedia server, a PC media center, a hand-held computer, a stationarytelephone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a mobile telephone, aportable video player, a portable music player, a portable gamingmachine, a smart phone, or any other television equipment, computingequipment, or wireless device, and/or combination of the same. In someembodiments, the user equipment device may have a front facing screenand a rear facing screen, multiple front screens, or multiple angledscreens. In some embodiments, the user equipment device may have a frontfacing camera and/or a rear facing camera. On these user equipmentdevices, users may be able to navigate among and locate the same contentavailable through a television. Consequently, media guidance may beavailable on these devices, as well. The guidance provided may be forcontent available only through a television, for content available onlythrough one or more of other types of user equipment devices, or forcontent available both through a television and one or more of the othertypes of user equipment devices. The media guidance applications may beprovided as on-line applications (i.e., provided on a web-site), or asstand-alone applications or clients on user equipment devices. Variousdevices and platforms that may implement media guidance applications aredescribed in more detail below.

One of the functions of the media guidance application is to providemedia guidance data to users. As referred to herein, the phrase, “mediaguidance data” or “guidance data” should be understood to mean any datarelated to content, such as media listings, media-related information(e.g., broadcast times, broadcast channels, titles, descriptions,ratings information (e.g., parental control ratings, critic's ratings,etc.), genre or category information, actor information, logo data forbroadcasters' or providers' logos, etc.), media format (e.g., standarddefinition, high definition, 3D, etc.), advertisement information (e.g.,text, images, media clips, etc.), on-demand information, blogs,websites, and any other type of guidance data that is helpful for a userto navigate among and locate desired content selections.

FIGS. 1-2 (including FIG. 2A and FIG. 2B) show illustrative displayscreens that may be used to provide media guidance data. The displayscreens shown in FIGS. 1-2 may be implemented on any suitable userequipment device or platform. While the displays of FIGS. 1-2 areillustrated as full screen displays, they may also be fully or partiallyoverlaid over content being displayed. A user may indicate a desire toaccess content information by selecting a selectable option provided ina display screen (e.g., a menu option, a listings option, an icon, ahyperlink, etc.) or pressing a dedicated button (e.g., a GUIDE button)on a remote control or other user input interface or device. In responseto the user's indication, the media guidance application may provide adisplay screen with media guidance data organized in one of severalways, such as by time and channel in a grid, by time, by channel, bysource, by content type, by category (e.g., movies, sports, news,children, or other categories of programming), or other predefined,user-defined, or other organization criteria. The organization of themedia guidance data is determined by guidance application data. Asreferred to herein, the phrase, “guidance application data” should beunderstood to mean data used in operating the guidance application, suchas program information, guidance application settings, user preferences,user account information, or user profile information.

FIG. 1 shows illustrative grid program listings display 100 arranged bytime and channel that also enables access to different types of contentin a single display. Display 100 may include grid 102 with: (1) a columnof channel/content type identifiers 104, where each channel/content typeidentifier (which is a cell in the column) identifies a differentchannel or content type available; and (2) a row of time identifiers106, where each time identifier (which is a cell in the row) identifiesa time block of programming. Grid 102 also includes cells of programlistings, such as program listing 108, where each listing provides thetitle of the program provided on the listing's associated channel andtime. With a user input device, a user can select program listings bymoving highlight region 110. Information relating to the program listingselected by highlight region 110 may be provided in program informationregion 112. Region 112 may include, for example, the program title, theprogram description, the time the program is provided (if applicable),the channel the program is on (if applicable), the program's rating, andother desired information.

In addition to providing access to linear programming (e.g., contentthat is scheduled to be transmitted to a plurality of user equipmentdevices at a predetermined time and is provided according to aschedule), the media guidance application also provides access tonon-linear programming (e.g., content accessible to a user equipmentdevice at any time and is not provided according to a schedule).Non-linear programming may include content from different contentsources including on-demand content (e.g., VOD), Internet content (e.g.,streaming media, downloadable media, etc.), locally stored content(e.g., content stored on any user equipment device described above orother storage device), or other time-independent content. On-demandcontent may include movies or any other content provided by a particularcontent provider (e.g., HBO On Demand providing “The Sopranos” and “CurbYour Enthusiasm”). HBO ON DEMAND is a service mark owned by Time WarnerCompany L.P. et al. and THE SOPRANOS and CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM aretrademarks owned by the Home Box Office, Inc. Internet content mayinclude web events, such as a chat session or Webcast, or contentavailable on-demand as streaming content or downloadable content throughan Internet web site or other Internet access (e.g. FTP).

Grid 102 may provide media guidance data for non-linear programmingincluding on-demand listing 114, recorded content listing 116, andInternet content listing 118. A display combining media guidance datafor content from different types of content sources is sometimesreferred to as a “mixed-media” display. Various permutations of thetypes of media guidance data that may be displayed that are differentthan display 100 may be based on user selection or guidance applicationdefinition (e.g., a display of only recorded and broadcast listings,only on-demand and broadcast listings, etc.). As illustrated, listings114, 116, and 118 are shown as spanning the entire time block displayedin grid 102 to indicate that selection of these listings may provideaccess to a display dedicated to on-demand listings, recorded listings,or Internet listings, respectively. In some embodiments, listings forthese content types may be included directly in grid 102. Additionalmedia guidance data may be displayed in response to the user selectingone of the navigational icons 120. (Pressing an arrow key on a userinput device may affect the display in a similar manner as selectingnavigational icons 120.)

Display 100 may also include video region 122, advertisement 124, andoptions region 126. Video region 122 may allow the user to view and/orpreview programs that are currently available, will be available, orwere available to the user. The content of video region 122 maycorrespond to, or be independent from, one of the listings displayed ingrid 102. Grid displays including a video region are sometimes referredto as picture-in-guide (PIG) displays. PIG displays and theirfunctionalities are described in greater detail in Satterfield et al.U.S. Pat. No. 6,564,378, issued May 13, 2003 and Yuen et al. U.S. Pat.No. 6,239,794, issued May 29, 2001, which are hereby incorporated byreference herein in their entireties. PIG displays may be included inother media guidance application display screens of the embodimentsdescribed herein.

Advertisement 124 may provide an advertisement for content that,depending on a viewer's access rights (e.g., for subscriptionprogramming), is currently available for viewing, will be available forviewing in the future, or may never become available for viewing, andmay correspond to or be unrelated to one or more of the content listingsin grid 102. Advertisement 124 may also be for products or servicesrelated or unrelated to the content displayed in grid 102. Advertisement124 may be selectable and provide further information about content,provide information about a product or a service, enable purchasing ofcontent, a product, or a service, provide content relating to theadvertisement, etc. Advertisement 124 may be targeted based on a user'sprofile/preferences, monitored user activity, the type of displayprovided, or on other suitable targeted advertisement bases.

While advertisement 124 is shown as rectangular or banner shaped,advertisements may be provided in any suitable size, shape, and locationin a guidance application display. For example, advertisement 124 may beprovided as a rectangular shape that is horizontally adjacent to grid102. This is sometimes referred to as a panel advertisement. Inaddition, advertisements may be overlaid over content or a guidanceapplication display or embedded within a display. Advertisements mayalso include text, images, rotating images, video clips, or other typesof content described above. Advertisements may be stored in a userequipment device having a guidance application, in a database connectedto the user equipment, in a remote location (including streaming mediaservers), or on other storage means, or a combination of theselocations. Providing advertisements in a media guidance application isdiscussed in greater detail in, for example, Knudson et al., U.S. PatentApplication Publication No. 2003/0110499, filed Jan. 17, 2003; Ward, IIIet al. U.S. Pat. No. 6,756,997, issued Jun. 29, 2004; and Schein et al.U.S. Pat. No. 6,388,714, issued May 14, 2002, which are herebyincorporated by reference herein in their entireties. It will beappreciated that advertisements may be included in other media guidanceapplication display screens of the embodiments described herein.

Options region 126 may allow the user to access different types ofcontent, media guidance application displays, and/or media guidanceapplication features. Options region 126 may be part of display 100 (andother display screens described herein), or may be invoked by a user byselecting an on-screen option or pressing a dedicated or assignablebutton on a user input device. The selectable options within optionsregion 126 may concern features related to program listings in grid 102or may include options available from a main menu display. Featuresrelated to program listings may include searching for other air times orways of receiving a program, recording a program, enabling seriesrecording of a program, setting program and/or channel as a favorite,purchasing a program, or other features. Options available from a mainmenu display may include search options, VOD options, parental controloptions, Internet options, cloud-based options, device synchronizationoptions, second screen device options, options to access various typesof media guidance data displays, options to subscribe to a premiumservice, options to edit a user's profile, options to access a browseoverlay, options to create or modify a user account, options toauto-configure or auto-configure a UE device based on informationassociated with a user account, or other options.

The media guidance application may be personalized based on a user'spreferences. A personalized media guidance application allows a user tocustomize displays and features to create a personalized “experience”with the media guidance application. This personalized experience may becreated by allowing a user to input these customizations and/or by themedia guidance application monitoring user activity to determine varioususer preferences. User preferences may be determined based oninformation associated with a user account, and may include OTTapplications. Users may access their personalized guidance applicationby logging in or otherwise identifying themselves to the guidanceapplication. Customization of the media guidance application may be madein accordance with a user profile. The customizations may includevarying presentation schemes (e.g., color scheme of displays, font sizeof text, etc.), aspects of content listings displayed (e.g., only HDTVor only 3D programming, user-specified broadcast channels based onfavorite channel selections, re-ordering the display of channels,recommended content, etc.), desired recording features (e.g., recordingor series recordings for particular users, recording quality, etc.),parental control settings, customized presentation of Internet content(e.g., presentation of social media content, e-mail, electronicallydelivered articles, etc.) and other desired customizations.

The media guidance application may allow a user to provide user profileinformation or may automatically compile user profile information. Themedia guidance application may, for example, monitor the content theuser accesses and/or other interactions the user may have with theguidance application. Additionally, the media guidance application mayobtain all or part of other user profiles that are related to aparticular user (e.g., from other web sites on the Internet the useraccesses, such as www.allrovi.com, from other media guidanceapplications the user accesses, from other interactive applications theuser accesses, from another user equipment device of the user, etc.),and/or obtain information about the user from other sources that themedia guidance application may access. As a result, a user can beprovided with a unified guidance application experience across theuser's different user equipment devices. This type of user experience isdescribed in greater detail below in connection with FIG. 4. Additionalpersonalized media guidance application features are described ingreater detail in Ellis et al., U.S. Patent Application Publication No.2005/0251827, filed Jul. 11, 2005, Boyer et al., U.S. Pat. No.7,165,098, issued Jan. 16, 2007, and Ellis et al., U.S. PatentApplication Publication No. 2002/0174430, filed Feb. 21, 2002, which arehereby incorporated by reference herein in their entireties. Informationobtained or gathered with regard to all user profiles mentioned in theforegoing may also be used to compile information relating to a useraccount. The user account may be automatically modified based on thecompiled information, or the media guidance application may allow theuser to choose to modify the account based on the compiled information,perhaps by prompting the user to do so.

Another display arrangement for providing media guidance is shown inFIG. 2A. Video mosaic display 200 a includes selectable options 202 afor content information organized based on content type, genre, and/orother organization criteria. In display 200 a, television listingsoption 204 a is selected, thus providing listings 206 a, 208 a, 210 a,and 212 a as broadcast program listings. In display 200 a the listingsmay provide graphical images including cover art, still images from thecontent, video clip previews, live video from the content, or othertypes of content that indicate to a user the content being described bythe media guidance data in the listing. Each of the graphical listingsmay also be accompanied by text to provide further information about thecontent associated with the listing. For example, listing 208 a mayinclude more than one portion, including media portion 214 a and textportion 216 a. Media portion 214 a and/or text portion 216 a may beselectable to view content in full-screen or to view information relatedto the content displayed in media portion 214 a (e.g., to view listingsfor the channel that the video is displayed on).

The listings in display 200 a are of different sizes (i.e., listing 206a is larger than listings 208 a, 210 a, and 212 a), but if desired, allthe listings may be the same size. Listings may be of different sizes orgraphically accentuated to indicate degrees of interest to the user orto emphasize certain content, as desired by the content provider orbased on user preferences. Various systems and methods for graphicallyaccentuating content listings are discussed in, for example, Yates, U.S.Patent Application Publication No. 2010/0153885, filed Dec. 29, 2005,which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

FIG. 2B shows another illustrative embodiment of a display screen thatmay be used to provide content consumption material, in accordance withsome embodiments of the disclosure. Modules 202 b, 204 b, 206 b, 208 b,210 b, 212 b, 214 b, 216 b, and 218 b within display 200 b eachcorrespond to applications. For example, module 202 b corresponds to aclock application. Applications corresponding to the modules may becustomizable by a user. For example, favorites module 212 and/or e-mailmodule 216 may correspond to a favorite application that corresponds toa user, such as user 501 a. The background of display 200 b may also becustomizable, such as by a wallpaper set by user 501 a.

Users may access content and the media guidance application (and itsdisplay screens described above and below) from one or more of theiruser equipment devices. FIG. 3 shows a generalized embodiment ofillustrative user equipment device 300. More specific implementations ofuser equipment devices are discussed below in connection with FIG. 4.User equipment device 300 may receive content and data via input/output(hereinafter “I/O”) path 302. I/O path 302 may provide content (e.g.,broadcast programming, on-demand programming, Internet content, contentavailable over a local area network (LAN) or wide area network (WAN),and/or other content) and data to control circuitry 304, which includesprocessing circuitry 306 and storage 308. Control circuitry 304 may beused to send and receive commands, requests, and other suitable datausing I/O path 302. I/O path 302 may connect control circuitry 304 (andspecifically processing circuitry 306) to one or more communicationspaths (described below). I/O functions may be provided by one or more ofthese communications paths, but are shown as a single path in FIG. 3 toavoid overcomplicating the drawing.

Control circuitry 304 may be based on any suitable processing circuitrysuch as processing circuitry 306. As referred to herein, processingcircuitry should be understood to mean circuitry based on one or moremicroprocessors, microcontrollers, digital signal processors,programmable logic devices, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs),application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), etc., and may includea multi-core processor (e.g., dual-core, quad-core, hexa-core, or anysuitable number of cores) or supercomputer. In some embodiments,processing circuitry may be distributed across multiple separateprocessors or processing units, for example, multiple of the same typeof processing units (e.g., two Intel Core i7 processors) or multipledifferent processors (e.g., an Intel Core i5 processor and an Intel Corei7 processor). In some embodiments, control circuitry 304 executesinstructions for a media guidance application stored in memory (i.e.,storage 308). Specifically, control circuitry 304 may be instructed bythe media guidance application to perform the functions discussed aboveand below. For example, the media guidance application may provideinstructions to control circuitry 304 to generate the media guidancedisplays. In some implementations, any action performed by controlcircuitry 304 may be based on instructions received from the mediaguidance application.

In client-server based embodiments, control circuitry 304 may includecommunications circuitry suitable for communicating with a guidanceapplication server or other networks or servers. The instructions forcarrying out the above mentioned functionality may be stored on theguidance application server. Communications circuitry may include acable modem, an integrated services digital network (ISDN) modem, adigital subscriber line (DSL) modem, a telephone modem, Ethernet card,or a wireless modem for communications with other equipment, or anyother suitable communications circuitry. Such communications may involvethe Internet or any other suitable communications networks or paths(which is described in more detail in connection with FIG. 4). Inaddition, communications circuitry may include circuitry that enablespeer-to-peer communication of user equipment devices, or communicationof user equipment devices in locations remote from each other (describedin more detail below).

Memory may be an electronic storage device provided as storage 308 thatis part of control circuitry 304. As referred to herein, the phrase“electronic storage device” or “storage device” should be understood tomean any device for storing electronic data, computer software, orfirmware, such as random-access memory, read-only memory, hard drives,optical drives, digital video disc (DVD) recorders, compact disc (CD)recorders, BLU-RAY disc (BD) recorders, BLU-RAY 3D disc recorders,digital video recorders (DVR, sometimes called a personal videorecorder, or PVR), solid state devices, quantum storage devices, gamingconsoles, gaming media, or any other suitable fixed or removable storagedevices, and/or any combination of the same. Storage 308 may be used tostore various types of content described herein as well as mediaguidance information, described above, and guidance application data,described above. Nonvolatile memory may also be used (e.g., to launch aboot-up routine and other instructions). Cloud-based storage, describedin relation to FIG. 4, may be used to supplement storage 308 or insteadof storage 308.

Control circuitry 304 may include video generating circuitry and tuningcircuitry, such as one or more analog tuners, one or more MPEG-2decoders or other digital decoding circuitry, high-definition tuners, orany other suitable tuning or video circuits or combinations of suchcircuits. Encoding circuitry (e.g., for converting over-the-air, analog,or digital signals to MPEG signals for storage) may also be provided.Control circuitry 304 may also include scaler circuitry for upconvertingand downconverting content into the preferred output format of the userequipment 300. Circuitry 304 may also include digital-to-analogconverter circuitry and analog-to-digital converter circuitry forconverting between digital and analog signals. The tuning and encodingcircuitry may be used by the user equipment device to receive and todisplay, to play, or to record content. The tuning and encodingcircuitry may also be used to receive guidance data. The circuitrydescribed herein, including for example, the tuning, video generating,encoding, decoding, encrypting, decrypting, scaler, and analog/digitalcircuitry, may be implemented using software running on one or moregeneral purpose or specialized processors. Multiple tuners may beprovided to handle simultaneous tuning functions (e.g., watch and recordfunctions, picture-in-picture (PIP) functions, multiple-tuner recording,etc.). If storage 308 is provided as a separate device from userequipment 300, the tuning and encoding circuitry (including multipletuners) may be associated with storage 308.

A user may send instructions to control circuitry 304 using user inputinterface 310. User input interface 310 may be any suitable userinterface, such as a remote control, mouse, trackball, keypad, keyboard,touch screen, touchpad, stylus input, joystick, voice recognitioninterface, or other user input interfaces. Display 312 may be providedas a stand-alone device or integrated with other elements of userequipment device 300. Display 312 may be one or more of a monitor, atelevision, a liquid crystal display (LCD) for a mobile device, or anyother suitable equipment for displaying visual images. In someembodiments, display 312 may be HDTV-capable. In some embodiments,display 312 may be a 3D display, and the interactive media guidanceapplication and any suitable content may be displayed in 3D. A videocard or graphics card may generate the output to the display 312. Thevideo card may offer various functions such as accelerated rendering of3D scenes and 2D graphics, MPEG-2/MPEG-4 decoding, TV output, or theability to connect multiple monitors. The video card may be anyprocessing circuitry described above in relation to control circuitry304. The video card may be integrated with the control circuitry 304.Speakers 314 may be provided as integrated with other elements of userequipment device 300 or may be stand-alone units. The audio component ofvideos and other content displayed on display 312 may be played throughspeakers 314. In some embodiments, the audio may be distributed to areceiver (not shown), which processes and outputs the audio via speakers314.

The guidance application may be implemented using any suitablearchitecture. For example, it may be a stand-alone application whollyimplemented on user equipment device 300. In such an approach,instructions of the application are stored locally, and data for use bythe application is downloaded on a periodic basis (e.g., from anout-of-band feed, from an Internet resource, or using another suitableapproach). In some embodiments, the media guidance application is aclient-server based application. Data for use by a thick or thin clientimplemented on user equipment device 300 is retrieved on-demand byissuing requests to a server remote to the user equipment device 300. Inone example of a client-server based guidance application, controlcircuitry 304 runs a web browser that interprets web pages provided by aremote server.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application is downloaded andinterpreted or otherwise run by an interpreter or virtual machine (runby control circuitry 304). In some embodiments, the guidance applicationmay be encoded in the ETV Binary Interchange Format (EBIF), received bycontrol circuitry 304 as part of a suitable feed, and interpreted by auser agent running on control circuitry 304. For example, the guidanceapplication may be an EBIF application. In some embodiments, theguidance application may be defined by a series of JAVA-based files thatare received and run by a local virtual machine or other suitablemiddleware executed by control circuitry 304. In some of suchembodiments (e.g., those employing MPEG-2 or other digital mediaencoding schemes), the guidance application may be, for example, encodedand transmitted in an MPEG-2 object carousel with the MPEG audio andvideo packets of a program.

User equipment device 300 of FIG. 3 can be implemented in system 400 ofFIG. 4 as user television equipment 402, user computer equipment 404,wireless user communications device 406, or any other type of userequipment suitable for accessing content, such as a non-portable gamingmachine. For simplicity, these devices may be referred to hereincollectively as user equipment or user equipment devices, and may besubstantially similar to user equipment devices described above. Userequipment devices, on which a media guidance application may beimplemented, may function as a standalone device or may be part of anetwork of devices. Various network configurations of devices may beimplemented and are discussed in more detail below.

A user equipment device utilizing at least some of the system featuresdescribed above in connection with FIG. 3 may not be classified solelyas user television equipment 402, user computer equipment 404, or awireless user communications device 406. For example, user televisionequipment 402 may, like some user computer equipment 404, beInternet-enabled allowing for access to Internet content, while usercomputer equipment 404 may, like some television equipment 402, includea tuner allowing for access to television programming. The mediaguidance application may have the same layout on various different typesof user equipment or may be tailored to the display capabilities of theuser equipment. For example, on user computer equipment 404, theguidance application may be provided as a web site accessed by a webbrowser. In another example, the guidance application may be scaled downfor wireless user communications devices 406.

In system 400, there is typically more than one of each type of userequipment device but only one of each is shown in FIG. 4 to avoidovercomplicating the drawing. In addition, each user may utilize morethan one type of user equipment device and also more than one of eachtype of user equipment device.

In some embodiments, a user equipment device (e.g., user televisionequipment 402, user computer equipment 404, wireless user communicationsdevice 406) may be referred to as a “second screen device.” For example,a second screen device may supplement content presented on a first userequipment device. The content presented on the second screen device maybe any suitable content that supplements the content presented on thefirst device. In some embodiments, the second screen device provides aninterface for adjusting settings and display preferences of the firstdevice. In some embodiments, the second screen device is configured forinteracting with other second screen devices or for interacting with asocial network. The second screen device can be located in the same roomas the first device, a different room from the first device but in thesame house or building, or in a different building from the firstdevice.

The user may also set various settings to maintain consistent mediaguidance application settings across in-home devices and remote devices.Settings include those described herein, as well as channel and programfavorites, programming preferences that the guidance applicationutilizes to make programming recommendations, display preferences, andother desirable guidance settings. For example, if a user sets a channelas a favorite on, for example, the web site www.allrovi.com on theirpersonal computer at their office, the same channel would appear as afavorite on the user's in-home devices (e.g., user television equipmentand user computer equipment) as well as the user's mobile devices, ifdesired. A user may also set user account information, such as logininformation, as a setting to be maintained across in-home devices andremote devices. Therefore, changes made on one user equipment device canchange the guidance experience on another user equipment device,regardless of whether they are the same or a different type of userequipment device. In addition, the changes made may be based on settingsinput by a user, as well as user activity monitored by the guidanceapplication.

The user equipment devices may be coupled to communications network 414.Namely, user television equipment 402, user computer equipment 404, andwireless user communications device 406 are coupled to communicationsnetwork 414 via communications paths 408, 410, and 412, respectively.Communications network 414 may be one or more networks including theInternet, a mobile phone network, mobile voice or data network (e.g., a4G or LTE network), cable network, public switched telephone network, orother types of communications network or combinations of communicationsnetworks. Paths 408, 410, and 412 may separately or together include oneor more communications paths, such as, a satellite path, a fiber-opticpath, a cable path, a path that supports Internet communications (e.g.,IPTV), free-space connections (e.g., for broadcast or other wirelesssignals), or any other suitable wired or wireless communications path orcombination of such paths. Path 412 is drawn with dotted lines toindicate that in the exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 4 it is awireless path and paths 408 and 410 are drawn as solid lines to indicatethey are wired paths (although these paths may be wireless paths, ifdesired). Communications with the user equipment devices may be providedby one or more of these communications paths, but are shown as a singlepath in FIG. 4 to avoid overcomplicating the drawing.

Although communications paths are not drawn between user equipmentdevices, these devices may communicate directly with each other viacommunication paths, such as those described above in connection withpaths 408, 410, and 412, as well as other short-range point-to-pointcommunication paths, such as USB cables, IEEE 1394 cables, wirelesspaths (e.g., Bluetooth, infrared, IEEE 802-11x, etc.), or othershort-range communication via wired or wireless paths. BLUETOOTH is acertification mark owned by Bluetooth SIG, INC. The user equipmentdevices may also communicate with each other directly through anindirect path via communications network 414.

System 400 includes content source 416 and media guidance data source418 coupled to communications network 414 via communication paths 420and 422, respectively. Paths 420 and 422 may include any of thecommunication paths described above in connection with paths 408, 410,and 412. Communications with the content source 416 and media guidancedata source 418 may be exchanged over one or more communications paths,but are shown as a single path in FIG. 4 to avoid overcomplicating thedrawing. In addition, there may be more than one of each of contentsource 416 and media guidance data source 418, but only one of each isshown in FIG. 4 to avoid overcomplicating the drawing. (The differenttypes of each of these sources are discussed below.) If desired, contentsource 416 and media guidance data source 418 may be integrated as onesource device. Although communications between sources 416 and 418 withuser equipment devices 402, 404, and 406 are shown as throughcommunications network 414, in some embodiments, sources 416 and 418 maycommunicate directly with user equipment devices 402, 404, and 406 viacommunication paths (not shown) such as those described above inconnection with paths 408, 410, and 412.

Content source 416 may include one or more types of content distributionequipment including a television distribution facility, cable systemheadend, satellite distribution facility, programming sources (e.g.,television broadcasters, such as NBC, ABC, HBO, etc.), intermediatedistribution facilities and/or servers, Internet providers, on-demandmedia servers, and other content providers. NBC is a trademark owned bythe National Broadcasting Company, Inc., ABC is a trademark owned by theAmerican Broadcasting Company, Inc., and HBO is a trademark owned by theHome Box Office, Inc. Content source 416 may be the originator ofcontent (e.g., a television broadcaster, a Webcast provider, etc.) ormay not be the originator of content (e.g., an on-demand contentprovider, an Internet provider of content of broadcast programs fordownloading, etc.). Content source 416 may include cable sources,satellite providers, on-demand providers, Internet providers,over-the-top content providers, or other providers of content. Contentsource 416 may also include a remote media server used to storedifferent types of content (including video content selected by a user),in a location remote from any of the user equipment devices. Systems andmethods for remote storage of content, and providing remotely storedcontent to user equipment are discussed in greater detail in connectionwith Ellis et al., U.S. Pat. No. 7,761,892, issued Jul. 20, 2010, whichis hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

Media guidance data source 418 may provide media guidance data, such asthe media guidance data described above. Media guidance application datamay be provided to the user equipment devices using any suitableapproach. In some embodiments, the guidance application may be astand-alone interactive television program guide that receives programguide data via a data feed (e.g., a continuous feed or trickle feed).Program schedule data and other guidance data may be provided to theuser equipment on a television channel sideband, using an in-banddigital signal, using an out-of-band digital signal, or by any othersuitable data transmission technique. Program schedule data and othermedia guidance data may be provided to user equipment on multiple analogor digital television channels.

In some embodiments, guidance data from media guidance data source 418may be provided to users' equipment using a client-server approach. Forexample, a user equipment device may pull media guidance data from aserver, or a server may push media guidance data to a user equipmentdevice. In some embodiments, a guidance application client residing onthe user's equipment may initiate sessions with source 418 to obtainguidance data when needed, e.g., when the guidance data is out of dateor when the user equipment device receives a request from the user toreceive data. Media guidance may be provided to the user equipment withany suitable frequency (e.g., continuously, daily, a user-specifiedperiod of time, a system-specified period of time, in response to arequest from user equipment, etc.). Media guidance data source 418 mayprovide user equipment devices 402, 404, and 406 the media guidanceapplication itself or software updates for the media guidanceapplication.

Media guidance applications may be, for example, stand-aloneapplications implemented on user equipment devices. For example, themedia guidance application may be implemented as software or a set ofexecutable instructions which may be stored in storage 308, and executedby control circuitry 304 of a user equipment device 300. In someembodiments, media guidance applications may be client-serverapplications where only a client application resides on the userequipment device, and server application resides on a remote server. Forexample, media guidance applications may be implemented partially as aclient application on control circuitry 304 of user equipment device 300and partially on a remote server as a server application (e.g., mediaguidance data source 418) running on control circuitry of the remoteserver. When executed by control circuitry of the remote server (such asmedia guidance data source 418), the media guidance application mayinstruct the control circuitry to generate the guidance applicationdisplays and transmit the generated displays to the user equipmentdevices. The server application may instruct the control circuitry ofthe media guidance data source 418 to transmit data for storage on theuser equipment. The client application may instruct control circuitry ofthe receiving user equipment to generate the guidance applicationdisplays.

Content and/or media guidance data delivered to user equipment devices402, 404, and 406 may be over-the-top (OTT) content. OTT contentdelivery allows Internet-enabled user devices, including any userequipment device described above, to receive content that is transferredover the Internet, including any content described above, in addition tocontent received over cable or satellite connections. OTT content isdelivered via an Internet connection provided by an Internet serviceprovider (ISP), but a third party distributes the content. The ISP maynot be responsible for the viewing abilities, copyrights, orredistribution of the content, and may only transfer IP packets providedby the OTT content provider. Examples of OTT content providers includeYOUTUBE, NETFLIX, and HULU, which provide audio and video via IPpackets. Youtube is a trademark owned by Google Inc., Netflix is atrademark owned by Netflix Inc., and Hulu is a trademark owned by Hulu,LLC. OTT content providers may additionally or alternatively providemedia guidance data described above. In addition to content and/or mediaguidance data, providers of OTT content can distribute media guidanceapplications (e.g., web-based applications or cloud-based applications),or the content can be displayed by media guidance applications stored onthe user equipment device.

Media guidance system 400 is intended to illustrate a number ofapproaches, or network configurations, by which user equipment devicesand sources of content and guidance data may communicate with each otherfor the purpose of accessing content and providing media guidance. Theembodiments described herein may be applied in any one or a subset ofthese approaches, or in a system employing other approaches fordelivering content and providing media guidance. The following fourapproaches provide specific illustrations of the generalized example ofFIG. 4.

In one approach, user equipment devices may communicate with each otherwithin a home network. User equipment devices can communicate with eachother directly via short-range point-to-point communication schemesdescribed above, via indirect paths through a hub or other similardevice provided on a home network, or via communications network 414.Each of the multiple individuals in a single home may operate differentuser equipment devices on the home network. As a result, it may bedesirable for various media guidance information or settings to becommunicated between the different user equipment devices. For example,it may be desirable for users to maintain consistent media guidanceapplication settings on different user equipment devices within a homenetwork, as described in greater detail in Ellis et al., U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 11/179,410, filed Jul. 11, 2005. Different types ofuser equipment devices in a home network may also communicate with eachother to transmit content. For example, a user may transmit content fromuser computer equipment to a portable video player or portable musicplayer.

In a second approach, users may have multiple types of user equipment bywhich they access content and obtain media guidance. For example, someusers may have home networks that are accessed by in-home and mobiledevices. Users may control in-home devices via a media guidanceapplication implemented on a remote device. For example, users mayaccess an online media guidance application on a website via a personalcomputer at their office, or a mobile device such as a PDA orweb-enabled mobile telephone. The user may set various settings (e.g.,recordings, reminders, or other settings) on the online guidanceapplication to control the user's in-home equipment. The online guidemay control the user's equipment directly, or by communicating with amedia guidance application on the user's in-home equipment. Varioussystems and methods for user equipment devices communicating, where theuser equipment devices are in locations remote from each other, isdiscussed in, for example, Ellis et al., U.S. Pat. No. 8,046,801, issuedOct. 25, 2011, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in itsentirety.

In a third approach, users of user equipment devices inside and outsidea home can use their media guidance application to communicate directlywith content source 416 to access content. Specifically, within a home,users of user television equipment 402 and user computer equipment 404may access the media guidance application to navigate among and locatedesirable content. Users may also access the media guidance applicationoutside of the home using wireless user communications devices 406 tonavigate among and locate desirable content.

In a fourth approach, user equipment devices may operate in a cloudcomputing environment to access cloud services. In a cloud computingenvironment, various types of computing services for content sharing,storage or distribution (e.g., video sharing sites or social networkingsites) are provided by a collection of network-accessible computing andstorage resources, referred to as “the cloud.” For example, the cloudcan include a collection of server computing devices, which may belocated centrally or at distributed locations, that provide cloud-basedservices to various types of users and devices connected via a networksuch as the Internet via communications network 414. These cloudresources may include one or more content sources 416 and one or moremedia guidance data sources 418. In addition or in the alternative, theremote computing sites may include other user equipment devices, such asuser television equipment 402, user computer equipment 404, and wirelessuser communications device 406. For example, the other user equipmentdevices may provide access to a stored copy of a video or a streamedvideo. In such embodiments, user equipment devices may operate in apeer-to-peer manner without communicating with a central server.

The cloud provides access to services, such as content storage, contentsharing, or social networking services, among other examples, as well asaccess to any content described above, for user equipment devices.Services can be provided in the cloud through cloud computing serviceproviders, or through other providers of online services. For example,the cloud-based services can include a content storage service, acontent sharing site, a social networking site, or other services viawhich user-sourced content is distributed for viewing by others onconnected devices. These cloud-based services may allow a user equipmentdevice to store content to the cloud and to receive content from thecloud rather than storing content locally and accessing locally-storedcontent.

A user may use various content capture devices, such as camcorders,digital cameras with video mode, audio recorders, mobile phones, andhandheld computing devices, to record content. The user can uploadcontent to a content storage service on the cloud either directly, forexample, from user computer equipment 404 or wireless usercommunications device 406 having content capture feature. Alternatively,the user can first transfer the content to a user equipment device, suchas user computer equipment 404. The user equipment device storing thecontent uploads the content to the cloud using a data transmissionservice on communications network 414. In some embodiments, the userequipment device itself is a cloud resource, and other user equipmentdevices can access the content directly from the user equipment deviceon which the user stored the content.

Cloud resources may be accessed by a user equipment device using, forexample, a web browser, a media guidance application, a desktopapplication, a mobile application, and/or any combination of accessapplications of the same. The user equipment device may be a cloudclient that relies on cloud computing for application delivery, or theuser equipment device may have some functionality without access tocloud resources. For example, some applications running on the userequipment device may be cloud applications, i.e., applications deliveredas a service over the Internet, while other applications may be storedand run on the user equipment device. In some embodiments, a user devicemay receive content from multiple cloud resources simultaneously. Forexample, a user device can stream audio from one cloud resource whiledownloading content from a second cloud resource. Or a user device candownload content from multiple cloud resources for more efficientdownloading. In some embodiments, user equipment devices can use cloudresources for processing operations such as the processing operationsperformed by processing circuitry described in relation to FIG. 3.

In some embodiments, when a user purchases a UE device from a firstentity, a server receives a UE device identifier, such as a serialnumber, and purchase information, such as a credit card number. Theserver then queries a database to determine whether a user accountassociated with the information associated with the purchase exists. Ifa user account does not exist, the server may cause a user to be offeredan opportunity to create a user account. If a user account does exist,the server may identify the user account, such that content consumptionmaterial processed by the user's other UE devices to enable the user toaccess content may be auto-configured on the newly purchased UE device.

In some embodiments, the first entity may have any and all informationrequired to identify content consumption material associated with oridentified by a user account, and/or content consumption material thatis associated with a UE device that is purchased from the first entity.For example, in the event the first entity is Apple, and a UE devicesuch as an iPad is purchased from Apple, a purchaser who already has auser account associated with, for example, an Apple ID, may already havetheir preferences known to Apple. In such an example, Apple mayauto-configure the iPad to include all information associated with thepurchaser's user account, and may be able to do so without querying oneor more databases to determine content consumption material associatedwith or identified by the user account and/or content consumptionmaterial that is compatible with the purchased UE device.

FIG. 5A shows an illustrative embodiment of a system that may identify auser account based on information obtained when a device is purchased,in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure. In FIG. 5A, user501 a is at store 502 a purchasing UE device 504 a at cash register 506a. This embodiment is merely illustrative, as the purchase may occuroutside of a physical store, such as electronically through an onlinevendor. In such an instance, cash register 506 a may be an onlinetransaction broker, such as PayPal, or any other service thatfacilitates transactions, whether owned or operated by the online vendoror through an independent transaction broker. The purchase may alsooccur outside of either of these environments, such as in a non-retailtransaction (e.g., a private transaction between individuals). In suchan instance, cash register 506 a may again be an online transactionbroker, such as PayPal, or any other service that facilitatestransactions, whether owned or operated by the online vendor or throughan independent transaction broker, and whether physical or virtual. Cashregister 506 a may include the functionality of device 300.

When UE device 504 a is purchased, control circuitry 304 determines a UEdevice ID and purchase information. Control circuitry 304 may determinethe device ID automatically or manually. Automatic determination mayoccur when an SKU number, a bar code, a QC code, or any other type ofscannable number is entered or scanned into cash register 506 a. Controlcircuitry 304 may also automatically determine the UE device ID byaccessing a database, such as an inventory or warehouse database, todetermine a unique identifier associated with a purchased item. Forexample, when purchasing a UE device via an online vendor, controlcircuitry 304 of the vendor may access a database to determine the UEdevice ID of the purchased item. Such database access may occur by usingany known query language to access the database, such as SQL. Manualdetermination may occur by a cashier manually entering in a UE deviceID, perhaps in response to an on-screen prompt at cash register 506 a.Manual determination also may occur after the transaction, such as bymanual registration by user 501 a. Manual determination may be made inresponse to user input via user input interface 310.

Purchase information may include information that at least serves toidentify user 501 a, such as a credit card number, a debit card number,a bank account number, an identifier associated with an e-wallet, suchas Google Wallet or PayPal, personal information given to a cashier suchas one's name, address, telephone number, and/or any other informationthat relates to or can be used to identify purchaser 501 a. In the caseof an electronic purchase, the purchase information may include an IPaddress, a MAC address of the device used to make the purchase, anidentifier assigned by an online vendor, a login identifier or handle,and/or any other information that may serve to identify the purchaser ofthe device. The term “purchase information” is hereafter usedinterchangeably with the term “information associated with the purchase”and carries the same definition.

Purchase information may be determined automatically or manually.Automatic determination of purchase information may includeautomatically determining an account number associated with aninstrument of payment at the time payment is made. For example, anaccount number associated with a magnetic stripe that is read through amagnetic stripe or card reader, such as a credit card reader, may bedetermined. Automatic determination may occur by way of processingcircuitry 306. Manual determination of purchase information may occur atcash register 506 a by a cashier manually entering information thatidentifies a user, such as a name, an address, and/or a telephonenumber, perhaps via user input interface 310.

Control circuitry 304 may transmit the UE device ID and the purchaseinformation to server 510 a over communications network 414 by way oftransmitter 508 a. Server 510 a may be located locally or remote fromcash register 506 a. Server 510 a may include all functionality of UEdevice 300. Server 510 a may be associated with and/or operated by avendor that provides user accounts. When server 510 a receives the UEdevice ID and the purchase information, server 510 a transmits thepurchase information to database 512 a. This transmission may occur byusing any known query language, such as SQL, to generate a queryaddressed to database 512 a. In some instances, database 512 a isco-located with server 510 a. In some instances, database 512 a andserver 510 a are one integrated device. In some instances, database 512a and server 510 a are located remotely from one another. The contentsand details pertaining to database 512 a are described below withrespect to FIG. 6 and FIG. 7.

Upon receiving the transmission including the purchase information,database 512 a determines whether a user account associated with thepurchase information exists. If a user account does not exist, database512 a transmits an indication to server 510 a that a user account doesnot exist. Server 510 a may subsequently transmit to UE device 504 a anindication that a user account associated with user 501 a does notexist, such that UE device 504 a is caused to offer user 501 a anopportunity to set up a new user account. Such an opportunity mayrequire a payment of a fee, or a commitment to pay recurring fees, asconsideration for setting up the new user account.

If a user account associated with the purchase information does exist,database 512 a identifies which user account corresponds to the purchaseinformation. The details associated with this identification aredescribed below with respect to FIG. 6 and FIG. 7. If a user accountassociated with the purchase information does exist, database 512 a maytransmit an identifier associated with the user account (e.g., anaccount identifier) to server 510 a. Database 512 a may include thefunctionality of UE device 300, and may determine and transmit theinformation associated with the determined user account by using controlcircuitry 304. Information within the database may be stored in storage308. As will be described with regard to FIG. 5B, server 510 a may causeUE device 504 a to become auto-configured by transmitting informationassociated with the user account to device 504 a.

In some embodiments, when a user account associated with a user isidentified, the server may access a database to determine which contentconsumption material should be provided to the purchased UE device. Insome embodiments, the first entity may already be aware of all contentconsumption material associated with or identified by the user account,as discussed above. For example, if the first entity is Apple, and thepurchased UE device is an Apple product, then Apple may already know allcontent consumption material that is compatible with the device and isassociated with the user account, and may cause the purchased UE deviceto be auto-configured based on that information.

FIG. 5B shows an illustrative embodiment of a system that may identifycontent consumption material associated with or identified by a useraccount that is compatible with a newly purchased UE device, inaccordance with some embodiments of the disclosure. After identifyingthe user account of the purchaser, as described in the foregoing withregard to FIG. 5A, server 510 b may query database 512 b as to whatcontent consumption material is associated with the user account that isalso compatible with UE device 504 b. This query may be performed viaSQL, or any other known query language or means of exchanginginformation with a database. This query may be sent concurrently, orsequentially, with other queries recited in the foregoing, and thequeries may be sent in no particular order. Database 512 b may use theuser account information in conjunction with the UE device identifier todetermine a platform associated with UE device 504 b. The platformassociated with UE device 504 b may be related to the first entity.Database 504 b may utilize the determined platform to acquire a list ofcontent consumption material compatible with that platform. Database 504b may narrow the acquired list to include only content consumptionmaterial on the list that is associated with the user account, includingcontent consumption material that was purchased and/or owned by user 501a and installed on other UE devices. Database 512 b may then transmitthe final list to server 510 b. In some embodiments, where UE device 504b is purchased from the first entity, and the first entity is restrictedto a first platform, there may be no need to check which contentconsumption material associated with or identified by the user accountis compatible with UE device 504 a, since the first entity already knowswhat content consumption material is compatible. In such a case, contentconsumption material associated with or identified by the user accountmay be installed without the cross-referencing described with regard toFIG. 6 and FIG. 7. In some embodiments, where UE device 504 a ispurchased from a vendor such as store 502, UE device 502 may need toaccess one or more servers associated with either or both of store 502 aand the first entity. It is noted that determining content consumptionmaterial compatibility with the purchased UE device is optional.

In some embodiments, user 501 a may access a website to manage user 501a's user account. From this website, user 501 a may access a list ofcontent consumption material associated with the user account. User 501a may specify what content consumption material on the list will beconfigured on UE device 504 b, perhaps by checking or unchecking boxesassociated with each content consumption material. The list may or maynot be confined to content consumption material that is compatible withUE device 504 b. If the website is accessed before the time of purchaseor the time of configuration of UE device 504 b, user 501 a may specifythat user 501 a's selections are to be applied to a next purchaseddevice. After the time of configuration of UE device 504 b, user 501 amay manage the content consumption material on UE device 504 b throughthe website. For example, user 501 a may select previously unselectedcontent consumption material, such that UE device 504 b is configured toenable access to the newly selected content consumption material.Similarly, user 501 a may unselect previously selected contentconsumption material, such that UE device 504 b is configured to removeaccess to the newly unselected content consumption material. The listmay be continually updated to reflect additions or deletions of contentconsumption material associated with the user account.

In some embodiments, after determining what, if any, of the contentconsumption material associated with or identified by the user accountis compatible with UE device 504 b, server 510 b may then wait toreceive an indication that UE device 504 b is to be configured with thecontent consumption material identified by the user account. Such anindication may include an indication that the device has been powered onfor the first time, an indication that the device is currently set todefault or factory settings, an indication that UE device 504 b isaccessing a network, such as the Internet, for the first time, anindication that a new or additional user login has been registered to UEdevice 504 b for the first time, an indication of receipt of a userrequest to auto-configure UE device 504 b, and the like.

In some embodiments, in order to ensure that an indication that UEdevice 504 b is to be auto-configured is received by server 510 b, UEdevice 504 b may be configured to proactively send a request to server510 b. In some embodiments, UE device 504 b may be configured to sendthis request upon determining that UE device 504 b has been turned onfor the first time, upon determining that a new account has beenregistered to UE device 504 b, or upon determining that a user requestto auto-configure UE device 504 b is received. In some embodiments, UEdevice 504 b may be configured to send this request upon determining anew user account has been created.

In some embodiments, in order to ensure that an indication that UEdevice 504 b is to be auto-configured is received by server 510 b,server 510 b may send HELLO messages to UE device 504 b periodicallyuntil server 510 b receives an indication that the device has been, forexample, powered on for the first time, such as an I'M HERE message. TheHELLO messages may be addressed to device 504 b based on the device IDassociated with device 504 b. The HELLO messages may be transmitted todevice 504 b via communications network 414. The HELLO messages may becaused to be transmitted by control circuitry 304. The I'M HERE messagemay be transmitted to server 510 b via communications network 414, andmay be caused to be transmitted by control circuitry 304.

In some embodiments, upon receiving an indication that device 504 b isto be auto-configured, server 510 b may transmit information associatedwith the user account to device 504 b if control circuitry 304 hasdetermined that a user account exists. If a compatibility determinationwas made, then server 510 b may transmit information relating to some orall compatible content consumption material associated with oridentified by the user account to UE device 504 b. Such transmission maybe performed over communications network 414, and may be caused to betransmitted by control circuitry 304. UE Device 504 b may then processthe information using processing circuitry 306 to access installation orconfiguration information associated with the content consumptionmaterial. In some embodiments, UE device 504 b may download installationinformation associated with the content consumption material from server510 b. In some embodiments, UE device 504 b may download installationinformation associated with the content consumption material from one ormore different servers, such as from providers of the contentconsumption material. When processing the information, UE device 504 bmay cause server 510 b, or a different server, which may be locatedlocally or remotely from UE device 504 b and/or server 510 b, totransmit the installation information to UE device 504 b. In someembodiments, UE device 504 b may automatically install the contentconsumption material upon receiving the installation or configurationinformation. In other embodiments, UE device 504 b may prompt user 501 avia display 312 to select what content consumption material, if any, ofthe identified content consumption material, to install. Such a promptmay be provided as a list, where user 501 a may check or uncheck boxesassociated with each content consumption material and then press asubmit button (e.g., via user input interface 310).

In some embodiments, a user may purchase a UE device from a third partyvendor, such as a physical retail store like Best Buy, or an onlinevendor like www.amazon.com, as opposed to the user purchasing a UEdevice from a first entity like Apple. In such embodiments, a server mayreceive, from the vendor, a UE device identifier, such as a serialnumber, and the server also receives purchase information, such as acredit card number. The server then queries a database to determinewhether a user account associated with the purchase information exists.If a user account does not exist, the vendor may offer an opportunity tothe purchaser to create a user account in order to auto-configure thepurchased UE device. If a user account does exist, the server mayidentify the user account, such that content consumption materialprocessed by the user's other UE devices to enable the user to consumecontent may be auto-configured on the newly purchased UE device. Whenthe UE device is purchased from a third party vendor, as opposed to froma first entity, the UE device or the vendor may need to query databasesthat the first entity does not need to query in order to auto-configurethe UE device.

FIG. 5A shows an illustrative embodiment of a system that may identify auser account based on information obtained when a device is purchased,in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure. In FIG. 5A, user501 a is at store 502 a purchasing UE device 504 a at cash register 506a. This embodiment is merely illustrative, as the purchase may occuroutside of a physical store, such as electronically through an onlinevendor. In such an instance, cash register 506 a may be an onlinetransaction broker, such as PayPal, or any other service thatfacilitates transactions, whether owned or operated by the online vendoror through an independent transaction broker. The purchase may alsooccur outside of either of these environments, such as in a non-retailtransaction (e.g., a private transaction between individuals). In suchan instance, cash register 506 a may again be an online transactionbroker, such as PayPal, or any other service that facilitatestransactions, whether owned or operated by the online vendor or throughan independent transaction broker, and whether physical or virtual. Cashregister 506 a may include the functionality of device 300.

When UE device 504 a is purchased, control circuitry 304 determines a UEdevice ID and purchase information. Control circuitry 304 may determinethe UE device ID automatically or manually. Automatic determination mayoccur when an SKU number, a bar code, a QC code, or any other type ofscannable number is entered or scanned into cash register 506 a. Controlcircuitry 304 may also automatically determine the UE device ID byaccessing a database, such as an inventory or warehouse database, todetermine a unique identifier associated with a purchased item. Forexample, when purchasing a UE device via an online vendor, controlcircuitry 304 of the vendor may access a database to determine thedevice ID of the purchased item. Such database access may occur by usingany known query language to access the database, such as SQL. Manualdetermination may occur by a cashier manually entering in a UE deviceID, perhaps in response to an on-screen prompt at cash register 506 a.Manual determination also may occur after the transaction, such as bymanual registration by user 501 a. Manual determination may be made inresponse to user input via user input interface 310.

Purchase information may include information that at least serves toidentify user 501 a, such as a credit card number, a debit card number,a bank account number, an identifier associated with an e-wallet, suchas Google Wallet or PayPal, personal information given to a cashier suchas one's name, address, telephone number, and/or any other informationthat relates to or can be used to identify purchaser 501 a. In the caseof an electronic purchase, the purchase information may include an IPaddress, a MAC address of the device used to make the purchase, anidentifier assigned by an online vendor, a login identifier or handle,and/or any other information that may serve to identify the purchaser ofthe device.

Purchase information may be determined automatically or manually.Automatic determination of purchase information may includeautomatically determining an account number associated with aninstrument of payment at the time payment is made. For example, anaccount number associated with a magnetic stripe that is read through amagnetic stripe or card reader, such as a credit card reader, may bedetermined. Automatic determination may occur by way of processingcircuitry 306. Manual determination of purchase information may occur atcash register 506 a by a cashier manually entering information thatidentifies a user, such as a name, an address, and/or a telephonenumber, perhaps via user input interface 310.

Control circuitry 304 may transmit the UE device ID and the purchaseinformation to server 510 a over communications network 414 by way oftransmitter 508 a. Server 510 a may be located locally or remote fromcash register 506 a. Server 510 a may include all functionality of UEdevice 300. Server 510 a may be associated with and/or operated by avendor that provides user accounts. When server 510 a receives thedevice ID and the purchase information, server 510 a transmits thepurchase information to database 512 a. This transmission may occur byusing any known query language, such as SQL, to generate a queryaddressed to database 512 a. In some instances, database 512 a isco-located with server 510 a. In some instances, database 512 a andserver 510 a are one integrated device. In some instances, database 512a and server 510 a are located remotely from one another. The contentsand details pertaining to database 512 a are described below withrespect to FIG. 6 and FIG. 7.

Upon receiving the transmission including the purchase information,database 512 a determines whether a user account associated with thepurchase information exists. If a user account does not exist, database512 a transmits an indication to server 510 a that a user account doesnot exist. Server 510 a may subsequently transmit to the vendor (e.g.,store 502 a) an indication that a user account associated with user 501a does not exist, such that the vendor may offer user 501 a anopportunity to set up a new user account. Such an opportunity mayrequire a payment of a fee, or a commitment to pay recurring fees, asconsideration for setting up the new user account.

If a user account associated with the purchase information does exist,database 512 a identifies which user account corresponds to the purchaseinformation. The details associated with this identification aredescribed below with respect to FIG. 6 and FIG. 7. If a user accountassociated with the purchase information does exist, database 512 a maytransmit an identifier associated with the user account (e.g., anaccount identifier) to server 510 a. Database 512 a may include thefunctionality of UE device 300, and may determine and transmit theinformation associated with the determined user account by using controlcircuitry 304. Information within the database may be stored in storage308. As will be described with regard to FIG. 5B, server 510 a may causeUE device 504 a to become auto-configured by transmitting informationassociated with the user account to device 504 a, or to store 502 a,which will then utilize that information to auto-configure UE device 504a. In some embodiments, server 510 a may allow store 502 a to downloadinformation associated with a user account that is associated with user501 a, such that store 502 a may cause user 501 a to receive a tokenthat can be used to auto-configure UE device 504 a. In some embodiments,the token may include a USB key, a SmartCard, an SD card, a mini-SDcard, a hard drive (internal or external), or any other componentcapable of storing and/or transferring information that enables user 501a to cause UE device 504 a to be auto-configured. In some embodiments,the token may be login information that user 501 a may use to accessuser account information via UE device 504 a, such that UE device 504 amay be auto-configured upon accessing the user account information.

In some embodiments, when a user account associated with a user isidentified, the server may access a database to determine what contentconsumption material should be provided to the purchased UE device. Theserver may determine that all content consumption material associatedwith or identified by the user account should be provided to the UEdevice, or the server may determine that only some content consumptionmaterial associated with or identified by the user account should beprovided to the UE device (e.g., content consumption material that iscompatible with the UE device). The server may provide informationassociated with the determined content consumption material to the UEdevice or to the vendor upon determining that the UE device is to beauto-configured.

FIG. 5B shows an illustrative embodiment of a system that may identifycontent consumption material associated with or identified by a useraccount that is compatible with a newly purchased UE device, inaccordance with some embodiments of the disclosure. After identifyingthe user account of the purchaser, as described in the foregoing withregard to FIG. 5A, server 510 b may query database 512 b as to whatcontent consumption material associated with or identified by the useraccount is also compatible with UE device 504 b. This query may beperformed via SQL, or any other known query language or means ofexchanging information with a database. This query may be sentconcurrently, or sequentially, with other queries recited in theforegoing, and the queries may be sent in no particular order. Database512 b may use the user account information in conjunction with the UEdevice identifier to determine a platform associated with UE device 504b. Database 512 b may utilize the determined platform to acquire a listof content consumption material compatible with that platform. Database512 b may narrow the acquired list to include only content consumptionmaterial on the list that is associated with the user account. Theresults of the query might cause the server to determine, for example,that UE device 504 b is a video game console, and that a ringtoneapplication associated with the user account is not compatible with thevideo game console. It is noted that determining content consumptionmaterial compatibility with the purchased UE device is optional.

In some embodiments, user 501 a may access a website to manage user 501a's user account. From this website, user 501 a may access a list ofcontent consumption material associated with the user account. User 501a may specify what content consumption material on the list will beconfigured on UE device 504 b, perhaps by checking or unchecking boxesassociated with each content consumption material. The list may or maynot be confined to content consumption material that is compatible withUE device 504 b. If the website is accessed before the time of purchaseor the time of configuration of UE device 504 b, user 501 a may specifythat user 501 a's selections are to be applied to a next purchaseddevice. After the time of configuration of UE device 504 b, user 501 amay manage the content consumption material on UE device 504 b throughthe website. For example, user 501 a may select previously unselectedcontent consumption material, such that UE device 504 b is configured toenable access to the newly selected content consumption material.Similarly, user 501 a may unselect previously selected contentconsumption material, such that UE device 504 b is configured to removeaccess to the newly unselected content consumption material. The listmay be continually updated to reflect additions or deletions of contentconsumption material associated with the user account.

In some embodiments, after determining what, if any, of the contentconsumption material associated with or identified by the user accountis compatible with UE device 504 b, server 510 b may then wait toreceive an indication that UE device 504 b is to be auto-configured.Such an indication may include an indication that the device has beenpowered on for the first time, an indication that the device iscurrently set to default or factory settings, an indication that UEdevice 504 b is accessing a network, such as the Internet, for the firsttime, an indication that a new or additional user login has beenregistered to UE device 504 b for the first time, an indication ofreceipt of a user request to auto-configure UE device 504 b, and thelike.

In some embodiments, in order to ensure that an indication that UEdevice 504 b is to be auto-configured is received by server 510 b, UEdevice 504 b may be configured to send a request to server 510 binquiring as to whether UE device 504 b is to be configured with respectto a particular user account. In some embodiments, UE device 504 b maybe configured to send this request upon determining that UE device 504 bhas been turned on for the first time, upon determining that a new useraccount associated with user 501 a has been registered to UE device 504b, or upon determining that a user request to auto-configure UE device504 b has been received. In some embodiments, UE device 504 b may beconfigured to send this request upon determining a new user account hasbeen created.

In some embodiments, in order to ensure that an indication that UEdevice 504 b is to be auto-configured is received by server 510 b,server 510 b may send HELLO messages to UE device 504 b periodicallyuntil server 510 b receives an indication that the device has been, forexample, powered on for the first time, such as an I'M HERE message. TheHELLO messages may be addressed to UE device 504 b based on the deviceID associated with UE device 504 b. The HELLO messages may betransmitted to device 504 b via communications network 414. The HELLOmessages may be caused to be transmitted by control circuitry 304. TheI'M HERE message may be transmitted to server 510 b via communicationsnetwork 414, and may be caused to be transmitted by control circuitry304.

In some embodiments, upon receiving an indication that UE device 504 bis to be auto-configured, server 510 b may transmit informationassociated with the user account to UE device 504 b if control circuitry304 has determined that a user account exists. If a compatibilitydetermination was made, then server 510 b may transmit informationrelating to some or all compatible content consumption materialassociated with or identified by the user account to UE device 504 b.Such transmission may be performed over communications network 414, andmay be caused to be transmitted by control circuitry 304. UE device 504b may then process the information using processing circuitry 306 toaccess installation or configuration information associated with thecontent consumption material. In some embodiments, UE device 504 b maydownload installation information associated with the contentconsumption material from server 510 b. In some embodiments, UE device504 b may download installation information associated with the contentconsumption material from one or more different servers, such as fromproviders of the content consumption material. When processing theinformation, UE device 504 b may cause server 510 b, or a differentserver, which may be located locally or remotely from UE device 504 band/or server 510 b, to transmit the installation information to UEdevice 504 b. In some embodiments, UE device 504 b may automaticallyinstall the content consumption material upon receiving the installationor configuration information. In other embodiments, UE device 504 b mayprompt user 501 a via display 312 to select what content consumptionmaterial, if any, of the identified content consumption material, toinstall. Such a prompt may be provided as a list, where user 501 a maycheck or uncheck boxes associated with each content consumption materialand then press a submit button (e.g., via user input interface 310).

In some embodiments, the database may contain entries corresponding toinformation associated with a user account. The entries may include auser account name, as well as any information associated with a useraccount. The information associated with the user account may includepurchase information, such as credit card numbers and bank accountnumbers associated with a user. The information associated with the useraccount may also include login information that corresponds to variousservices. The login information may include usernames and passwords thatcorrespond to the service. Other information that may be associated witha user account may include a list of applications associated with theuser account.

FIG. 6 shows an illustrative embodiment of a database entry that detailsfields associated with a user account, in accordance with someembodiments of the disclosure. Database entry 600 may include a useraccount name 602, purchase information 604, and login information 606.Database entry 600 may include additional fields, such as contentconsumption material associated with or identified by the user account,UE devices associated with the user account, specific contentconsumption material installed on each or any of the UE devicesassociated with the user account, and the like. In this case, the useraccount belongs to John Smith, as shown in item 602. Item 604 depictspurchase information associated with John Smith's user account. Forexample, a credit card number and a bank account number associated withJohn Smith appear in this entry; however, any type of purchaseinformation as defined in the foregoing may form a part of this entry.Item 606 depicts login information. Login information 606 may include auser name 610, a password 612, and a corresponding service 608. In someinstances, a password is not needed to access a service, and thereforeno corresponding password will be filled in for that service. Service608 may be any type of service that corresponds to content consumptionmaterial, including but not limited to a banking service, a mediaservice, a personal organization service, a calendar service, or anyother type of service.

In some embodiments, a user may manually enter and delete informationfrom his or her user account. This may be performed via user inputinterface 310. The user may manipulate information within his or heruser account through a secure website or through a dedicatedapplication. The user may manipulate information within his or her useraccount by speaking to an agent associated with his or her user accountand requesting the information be changed by a telephone, chat, orinstant message service, or by interacting with such an agent in person.In some embodiments, a service providing the user account mayautomatically detect information, such as purchase information, logininformation, or installed content consumption material on UE device 504a. This may be detected whenever a user logs into a service or installscontent consumption material that is not currently part of the useraccount, or when a user uses a means of payment that is not withinpurchase information field 604 of his or her user account.

In some embodiments, such information may be automatically added to theuser account, and in other embodiments a user may manually add thisinformation to his or her user account. The user may be prompted viadisplay 312 each time the provider of the user account detectsinformation that is suited to entry into the user's user account. Theuser may instead or additionally be prompted when the user logs into hisor her user account to select detected content consumption material heor she would like to add, if any.

In some embodiments, when database 512 a receives a query from server510 a, database 512 a uses information within the query, such as thepurchase information, to cross-reference entries in database 512 a tofind matching results. Matching results may include database entriesthat are associated with the purchase information. Matching results aretransmitted by database 512 a back to control circuitry 304 of server510 a, such that control circuitry 304 is able to determine one or moreuser accounts associated with user 501 a.

In some embodiments, database entries may correlate a device ID with aplatform that UE device 504 a operates on. The same entry or a differententry may correlate a list of content consumption material that iscompatible with devices that utilize specific platforms.

FIG. 7 shows an illustrative embodiment of a database entry that detailsassociations between device identifiers, platforms (e.g., makes andmodels) of UE devices, and what content consumption material (e.g.,applications) is compatible with those UE devices, in accordance withsome embodiments of the disclosure. Such entries may be stored ondatabase 512 within storage 308, or on a separate and differentdatabase. Entry 700 includes items 702, 704, and 706, where item 702lists UE device IDs, item 704 lists the make and model of the UE deviceID, and item 706 lists applications that are compatible with thatspecific model. As an example, a newly purchased iPhone 4S may have adevice ID A47629X6, which may be the serial number of the iPhone. TheiPhone is compatible with some universal applications like Netflix andHulu, but is not compatible with some proprietary applications likeGoogle Play. As another example, a first generation Samsung Chromebookmay be compatible with Google Play and SlingPlayer, but is notcompatible with iTunes.

In some embodiments, compatibility entries 700 ensure that onlyinformation associated with content consumption material that iscompatible with the purchased UE device are transmitted to the purchasedUE device. For example, when database 512 a receives a query from server510 a, database 512 a uses information within the query, such as the UEdevice ID, to cross-reference entries in database 512 a to find matchingresults. Matching results may include database entries that areassociated with the device ID, such as an entry including a list ofcontent consumption material that is compatible with UE device 504 a,where UE device 504 a corresponds to the UE device ID. Database 512 bmay narrow the matching results to include only content consumptionmaterial that is associated with the user account and then transmit theresults to server 510 b, or database 512 b may transmit the acquiredresults to server 510 b, which may then narrow the matching results toonly include content consumption material that correspond to user 501 a,perhaps by querying database 512 b or a different database.

In some embodiments, a server receives information associated with apurchase and a UE device identifier when a UE device is purchased. Theserver may access a database to identify a user account associated withthe purchase information. The identified user account may be associatedwith the UE device based on the UE device identifier by the server. Adetermination may then be made that the UE device is to beauto-configured, and, in response to the determination, the server maytransmit information associated with the user account to the UE device.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart of illustrative steps involved in identifying auser account based on information obtained when a UE device ispurchased, and transmitting information associated with the user accountto the purchased UE device, in accordance with some embodiments of thedisclosure. In step 802, a server may receive, in response to the userhaving purchased the UE device, a UE device ID associated with a UEdevice and purchase information. For example, server 510 a may receive aserial number of a newly purchased computer, and a credit card numberswiped by a cashier at cash register 506 a, when user 501 a purchasesthe computer.

In step 804, the server searches a database to identify a user accountbased on the received purchase information. In some embodiments, theserver accesses the database via communications network 414. In otherembodiments, the server is co-located with the database. The useraccount may identify content consumption material that has beenprocessed by another UE device to enable the user to consume contentprior to the user having purchased the UE device. The identified contentconsumption material may include user names, passwords, and informationabout subscriptions and applications that the purchaser has installed onother devices. For example, server 510 a may access database 512 a as towhether a user account associated with the purchase information exists,and if so, server 510 a may learn from database 512 a a user accountnumber.

In step 806, the server may automatically transmit a communication tothe UE device based on the UE device identifier, where the communicationcauses the UE device to be configured with the content consumptionmaterial identified by the user account. In some embodiments, server 510a transmits the communication in response to a user request toauto-configure UE device 504 a. In some embodiments, server 510 atransmits the communication when server 510 a determines that UE device504 a has been powered on for the first time. In some embodiments, thisdetermination is made by sending HELLO messages addressed to UE device504 a based on the device ID, such that when server 510 a receives aresponse (e.g., an I'M HERE message), server 510 a knows that UE device504 a has been powered on for the first time. In some embodiments, whenUE device 504 a is powered on for the first time, UE device 504 a sendsserver 510 a a request for information related to a user account foruser 501 a. Such an embodiment may avoid server 510 a having to beburdened by sending HELLO messages periodically while UE device 504 a isnot capable of responding to the HELLO messages.

In some embodiments, when a UE device is to be auto-configured, adatabase is accessed to determine the platform of the UE device, suchthat only content consumption material that is compatible with thatplatform is configured on the device.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart of illustrative steps involved in identifyingcontent consumption material that is associated with the user accountthat is compatible with the newly purchased UE device, in accordancewith some embodiments of the disclosure. In step 902, a UE deviceidentifier and purchase information are received. For example, thedevice identifier and the purchase information may be received viatransmitter 508 a in response to a purchase of UE device 504 a at a cashregister 506 a, the transmission occurring over communications network414.

In step 903, control circuitry 304 determines whether a user accountassociated with the purchase information exists. For example, server 510a may query database 512 a to determine whether a user account isassociated with the purchase information.

In step 904, control circuitry determines a user account associated withthe purchase information. For example, server 510 a may query database512 a to determine a user account. This determination is made inaccordance with the discussion made with regard to FIG. 5A.

In optional step 906, a database is accessed to determine the platformof the purchased UE device 504 a based on the UE device identifier. Insome embodiments, a platform may be associated with a make and/or modelof UE device 504 a. For example, entry 700 may be accessed by server 510a via communications network 414 to determine the make/model of UEdevice 504 a, which may correspond to serial number A47629X6, asdepicted in FIG. 7. Some platforms may correspond to entities thatrestrict a device's functionality to authorized and proprietaryapplications.

In optional step 908, a set of content consumption material associatedwith or identified by the user account that the UE device is compatiblewith is determined. This determination may be made by accessing a sameor different database than the one accessed in step 906. For example,entry 700 may be accessed by server 510 a via communications network 414to determine a set of content consumption material that is compatiblewith a particular UE device ID, such as compatible applications 706. Insome embodiments, determining what content consumption material that theUE device is compatible with may include determining the platform of thedevice, accessing a database to determine content consumption materialassociated with or identified by that platform, and then determiningwhat content consumption material of the content consumption materialthat platform supports are associated with the user account.

In step 912, the server may determine that the UE device is to beauto-configured. In this case, control circuitry 304 may transmitinformation associated with the determined set of content consumptionmaterial to UE device 504 a. For example, server 510 a may transmit thisinformation via communications network 414 to UE device 504 a.

In some embodiments, a UE device may transmit a request to beauto-configured. The UE device may receive information associated withthe user account, such that the UE device may be auto-configured basedon the received information.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart of illustrative steps taken by the UE device whenthe UE device has not been previously associated with the user account,in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure. In step 1002, theUE device transmits a request to auto-configure the UE device. Forexample, UE device 504 a may be powered on for the first time, uponwhich UE device 504 a will receive a HELLO message from server 510 a,and respond with an I'M HERE message via communications network 414.

In step 1004, the UE device receives a communication that identifiescontent consumption material associated with or identified by the useraccount. This information may include compatibility information,subscription information, login information, and the like. For example,UE device 504 a may receive an indication of login information 606associated with the user account from server 510 a via communicationsnetwork 414. Such information may be received from server 510 a and/orfrom one or more other servers.

In step 1006, the UE device auto-configures based on informationreceived in step 1004. In some embodiments, UE device 504 a may usecontrol circuitry 304 to automatically modify web browser settings orset cookies such that user 501 a's login information for servicesassociated with user 501 a's user account are automatically loaded. Insome embodiments, control circuitry 304 may automatically accessapplication provider servers to download installation files related toapplications, and then automatically execute the downloaded installationfiles. In some embodiments, control circuitry 304 may cause a user to beprompted through display 312 to select only a subset of the applicationsor login information associated with the user account. The flowchart ofserver functions described in FIG. 8 is closely associated with thefunction of FIG. 10, and as such, all embodiments described with regardto FIG. 8 are equally applicable to the functions associated with theflowchart of FIG. 10.

In some embodiments, when the UE device is to be auto-configured, the UEdevice processes a communication from the server to identify contentconsumption material identified by the user account. For example, the UEdevice may discover a set of content consumption material associatedwith or identified by the user account that is compatible with the UEdevice. The UE device may then determine what applications of thediscovered set of content consumption material are not alreadyconfigured on the UE device, and have each such application installed,thus enabling the user to consume content corresponding to thoseapplications when the user first uses the device.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart of illustrative steps taken by the UE device toconfigure the UE device upon receiving a communication from the server,in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure. In step 1102, theUE device processes the communication to identify the contentconsumption material identified by the user account. For example,control circuitry 304 is used to process the content consumptionmaterial.

In step 1104, the UE device determines which of a plurality ofapplications associated with the identified content consumption materialare not already configured on the UE device. For example, controlcircuitry 304 is used to determine whether any of the contentconsumption material identified by the user account is pre-existing onUE device 504 a (e.g., due to default settings).

In step 1106, the UE device modifies the settings of any pre-installedapplications to match the settings specified for each such applicationin the identified content consumption material, if such settings are infact specified. For example, if calendar application 204 b is anapplication of the identified content consumption material, and ispre-installed on UE device 504 a, then the calendar application may beautomatically modified to include user 501 a's preferences within thecalendar.

In step 1108, the UE device downloads the applications determined to notalready be installed on the UE device. For example, UE device 504 adownloads the applications via communications network 414 and stores theapplications on storage 308.

In step 1110, the platform of the UE device is modified to include amodule for each application, such that when modules are selected by theuser, the corresponding application is executed such that the user canconsume content using that corresponding application. For example, whena user selects module 208 b using user input interface 310, a musicapplication (e.g., iTunes) is executed and the user is enabled toconsume music.

It will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that methodsinvolved in the present invention may be embodied in a computer programproduct that includes a computer usable and/or readable medium. Forexample, such a computer usable medium may consist of a read only memorydevice, such as a CD-ROM disk or conventional ROM devices, or a randomaccess memory, such as a hard drive device or a computer diskette,having a computer readable program code stored thereon. It should alsobe understood, that methods, techniques, and processes involved in thepresent invention may be executed using processing circuitry. Forinstance, determination of a user account as described herein may beperformed by processing circuitry, e.g., by processing circuitry 306 ofFIG. 3. The processing circuitry, for instance, may be a general purposeprocessor, a customized integrated circuit (e.g., an ASIC), or afield-programmable gate array (FPGA) within user equipment 108 or one ofservers 122 of FIG. 1. For example, the user account information may bestored in, and retrieved from, storage 308 of FIG. 3, or media guidancedata source 418 of FIG. 4. Furthermore, processing circuitry, or acomputer program, may update the profiles by updating the informationstored within storage 308 of FIG. 3 or media guidance data source 418 ofFIG. 4.

The processes discussed above are intended to be illustrative and notlimiting. One skilled in the art would appreciate that the steps of theprocesses discussed herein may be omitted, modified, combined, and/orrearranged, and any additional steps may be performed without departingfrom the scope of the invention. More generally, the above disclosure ismeant to be exemplary and not limiting. Only the claims that follow aremeant to set bounds as to what the present invention includes.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for automatically configuring a newlypurchased user equipment (UE) device with content consumption materialthat is associated with a user, the method comprising: determining, inresponse to detecting that a transaction tool is used to purchase a UEdevice, that a user has acquired the UE device and that the user has notpreviously acquired the UE device; receiving, based on the determinationthat the user has acquired the UE device, an identity of the transactiontool used by the user to acquire the UE device and a UE deviceidentifier; searching a database of user account information to identifya user account based on the identity of the transaction tool, whereinthe identified user account identifies content consumption material thatis associated with the user; in response to determining based on theidentity of the transaction tool, that the user account does not existfor the user, enabling the user to create a new account; in response todetermining based on the identity of the transaction tool that the useraccount exists for the user, determining a subset of the contentconsumption material that is associated with the user that is compatiblewith the UE device; and in response to determining based on the identityof the transaction tool that the user account exists for the user,automatically, without receiving a command from the user to cause the UEdevice to be configured with the content consumption material identifiedby the user account, transmitting to the UE device, based on the UEdevice identifier, a communication that causes the UE device to beconfigured with the subset of the content consumption materialidentified by the user account, wherein causing the UE device to beconfigured with the subset of the content consumption materialcomprises: processing, by the UE device, the transmitted communicationto identify the subset of the content consumption material identified bythe user account; determining, by the UE device, which of a plurality ofapplications associated with the identified content consumption materialare not already configured on the UE device; downloading, by the UEdevice, the applications determined to not already be installed; andmodifying, by the UE device, a platform of the UE device to include amodule for each downloaded application, each module when selected by theuser executes the corresponding downloaded application to enable theuser to consume content using the corresponding downloaded application.2. The method of claim 1, wherein the automatic transmission to the UEdevice occurs when at least one of the following determinations is made:the UE device has been powered on for the first time; the UE device isconfigured with factory settings; the UE device has accessed theInternet for the first time; additional user login information has beenregistered to the UE device for the first time; and a user request hasbeen received.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein searching the databasefurther comprises: determining a set of a plurality of contentconsumption materials that is compatible with the UE device based on theUE device identifier; and retrieving the set for use as the contentconsumption material.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the contentconsumption material that is associated with the user has been processedby another UE device to enable the user to consume content prior to theuser having acquired the UE device.
 5. The method of claim 1, whereinthe transaction tool is a tangible object, and wherein the identity ofthe transaction tool includes at least one of a credit card number, abank account number, a username, an identifier of an entity that isconfigured to provide funds for allowing the user to acquire the UEdevice, and an address.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the UE deviceidentifier is at least one of a serial number of the UE device, an IPaddress of the UE device, a unique indicator of the UE device, and a MACaddress of the UE device.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein the contentconsumption material includes at least one of a user profile setting, adevice setting, a username, a password, and an application.
 8. Themethod of claim 1, wherein, when the UE device receives thecommunication, the UE device automatically downloads an applicationidentified by the subset of the content consumption material.
 9. Asystem for automatically configuring a newly purchased user equipment(UE) device with content consumption material that is associated with auser, the system comprising: a processor configured to: determine, inresponse to detecting that a transaction tool is used to purchase a UEdevice, that a user has acquired the UE device and that the user has notpreviously acquired the UE device; receive, based on the determinationthat the user has acquired the UE device, an identity of the transactiontool used by the user to acquire the UE device and a UE deviceidentifier; search a database of user account information to identify auser account based on the identity of the transaction tool, wherein theidentified user account identifies content consumption material that isassociated with the user; in response to determining based on theidentity of the transaction tool, that the user account does not existfor the user, enable the user to create a new account; in response todetermining based on the identity of the transaction tool that the useraccount exists for the user, determine a subset of the contentconsumption material that is associated with the user that is compatiblewith the UE device; and in response to determining based on the identityof the transaction tool that the user account exists for the user,automatically, without receiving a command from the user to cause the UEdevice to be configured with the content consumption material identifiedby the user account, transmit to the UE device, based on the UE deviceidentifier, a communication that causes the UE device to be configuredwith the subset of the content consumption material identified by theuser account, wherein causing the UE device to be configured with thesubset of the content consumption material comprises: process, by the UEdevice, the transmitted communication to identify the subset of thecontent consumption material identified by the user account; determine,by the UE device, which of a plurality of applications associated withthe identified content consumption material are not already configuredon the UE device; download, by the UE device, the applicationsdetermined to not already be installed; and modify, by the UE device, aplatform of the UE device to include a module for each downloadedapplication, each module when selected by the user executes thecorresponding downloaded application to enable the user to consumecontent using the corresponding downloaded application.
 10. The systemof claim 9, wherein the automatic transmission to the UE device occurswhen at least one of the following determinations is made: the UE devicehas been powered on for the first time; the UE device is configured withfactory settings; the UE device has accessed the Internet for the firsttime; additional user login information has been registered to the UEdevice for the first time; and a user request has been received.
 11. Thesystem of claim 9, wherein the content consumption material that isassociated with the user has been processed by another UE device toenable the user to consume content prior to the user having acquired theUE device.
 12. The system of claim 9, wherein the transaction tool is atangible object, and wherein the identity of the transaction toolincludes at least one of a credit card number, a bank account number, ausername, an identifier of an entity that is configured to provide fundsfor allowing the user to acquire the UE device, and an address.
 13. Thesystem of claim 9, wherein the UE device identifier is at least one of aserial number of the UE device, an IP address of the UE device, a uniqueindicator of the UE device, and a MAC address of the UE device.
 14. Thesystem of claim 9, wherein the content consumption material includes atleast one of a user profile setting, a device setting, a username, apassword, and an application.
 15. The system of claim 9, wherein, whenthe UE device receives the communication, the UE device automaticallydownloads an application identified by the content consumption material.16. The method of claim 1, further comprising: transmitting the identityof the transaction tool and the UE device identifier to a server,wherein the server is in communication with the database of user accountinformation; in response to transmitting the identity of the transactiontool and the UE device identifier to the server, receiving, from theserver, an identifier of the user account; and identifying, based on theidentifier of the user account, a content consumption application thatis associated with the user.
 17. The system of claim 9, wherein theprocessor is further configured to: transmit the identity of thetransaction tool and the UE device identifier to a server, wherein theserver is in communication with the database of user accountinformation; in response to transmitting the identity of the transactiontool and the UE device identifier to the server, receive, from theserver, an identifier of the user account; and identifying, based on theidentifier of the user account, a content consumption application thatis associated with the user.